Exchanges
Coinbase, Kraken and other big exchanges
Buy with local currency on a licensed exchange, then withdraw and shield.
- Best for
- People who already use a major exchange and live where it lists ZEC.
- ZEC arrives
- Transparent address, then shield it
- Custody
- Exchange holds funds until you withdraw
- Fees
- Exchange trading and withdrawal fees
How to do it
- Use an exchange that lists ZEC where you live: Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, OKX, KuCoin, Bitfinex and others do in many countries.
- Verify your identity, deposit money and buy ZEC.
- In a shielded wallet such as Zodl, copy its transparent receiving address (it starts with t1). Most exchanges can only withdraw to transparent addresses.
- Withdraw your ZEC to that address.
- Your wallet shields it on arrival. In Zodl this happens with one tap.
Who sees what
Plain facts about who can see this route and who holds your money along the way, with sources. Every route involves some trade-off.
- Who can see it
- The exchange knows your identity, IP address, payment details and every trade. Most withdraw only to transparent addresses, so the amount and your receiving address are public onchain until you shield the ZEC.
- Who holds your funds
- The exchange, until you withdraw.
- Identity checks
- Required. Some exchanges, such as Kraken, may also ask for proof of address or where your money came from.
- Compliance screening
- Exchanges screen against sanctions lists and can suspend withdrawals or freeze accounts for compliance. Kraken's terms allow suspending withdrawals indefinitely.
Incidents
- Coinbase disclosed that bribed support staff leaked data on 69,461 customers, including ID images, addresses and balances. theregister.com
- Kraken stopped ZEC deposits and trading in India. support.kraken.com
- Kraken stopped ZEC deposits and trading in the UAE, with withdrawals ending on 14 September. support.kraken.com
Sources: kraken.com · zechub.wiki
Good to know
- Availability changes by country. Licensed exchanges in Japan, South Korea and Dubai cannot list ZEC, and Kraken delisted it in India and the UAE in 2026. EU rules bar exchanges there from handling privacy coins from 10 July 2027.
- Binance accepts deposits to TEX addresses. Check each exchange's address rules before sending ZEC back to it.
- ZecHub keeps a list of exchanges with their address types and deposit times.
Last checked 2 October 2026. Sources: